Machine for tufting mattresses



%p%. 7, 1937. M N 2,092,171

MACHINE FOR TUFTING MATTRESSES Filed Oct. 15, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 7, 1937. M. H. LANG MACHINE FOR TUFTING MATTRESSES Filed Oct. 15, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 mummmz.

Patented Sept. 7, 1937 UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR TUFTING MATTRESSES Martin H. Lang, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application October 15, 1934, Serial No. 748,366

14 Claims.

This invention relates to a mattress tuftin'gmachine of the type constructed and" arranged" pressed portion at spaced intervals, together with means for moving the mattress toward the compressing and= tufting means at intervals to form successive rows of tufts therein;

It is another object of the invention to provide a mattress tufting machine having means for supporting a mattress and bars disposedv above and below. said mattress extending thereacross and movable toward: each other to compress said mattress, said bars being convex in. cross section at their adjacent portions.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a mattress tufting machine having a mattress-supporting table and bars extending transversely thereof adapted to be moved together to compress said mattress along a narrow zone, said bars being constructed and arranged to move equal distances toward each other after engaging said mattress on said table so that said mattress isequally compressed from its top and bottom.

Itis more specifically an object of the invention to provide a mattress tufting machine having means for compressing av mattress along a narrowzone extending.transversely'thereoi, a-bar extending parallel tosaid means and a. carriage supported entirely by said bar and having rollers journaled thereon engaging said bar.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection withv the accompanying' drawings, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughoutthe several views and. in which:--

Fig. l is a view in. front elevation ofsaid ma.- chine;

Fig. 2' is apartial view on an enlarged scale of: aportion: shown in Fig. 1, said view being partly in plan and partly. inhorizontal cross section;

Fig. 3 is atop plan view of said machine;

Fig. 4. is a view inside elevation of said ma chine as seen from the left of- Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 1' as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4 as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged vertical section on line 7'l of Fig. l-; and

Fig. 8-is a view in elevation as seen from: the right of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, a mattress tufting 0 machine is shown, comprising a. frame having the end members Ill-illustrated as; in the form. of castings having the forward; andrearward foot portions Illa and lllb and being generally of triangular form. Said end members are con 15 nected and rigidly tied together by a. plurality of bars H' which" extend therebetween and-are pro-- vided withv nuts l2 engaging said end members.

A table I3 is provided comprising spaced members or boards I3a extending forwardly and 20 rearwardly of said machine, said boards at their forwardien'ds being supported in an angle mem ber M secured to the end members In. Said boards adjacent their rear ends are also secured to an angle bar l5. which iszsecurecl at its ends by bolts I! to the upper apertured ends of a pair of links. 18; through the other ends ofwhich pass. one ofthe lower rods I l. Boards l3a are secured to bars l4 and [5 by bolts I6 having heads countersunk into said boards. The end boards l3a have metal plates [9- setinto their top edges so that their top surfaces are flush with the top surfaces of said boards, said boards being rabbeted or cut away below the outer edges of said plates as shown at H1) in Fig. 6. 35

Said end members In eachv have an apertured lug I00 at their upper forward ends. Each ofsaid end members has a recess 10d below said lug extending to the horizontal surface I06. Guide rods 20 shown as of cylindrical form are secured in the lugs lllc. A bar 2| extends between guide rods 20 and has apertured lugs 2la at its ends slidable on said guide rods below lug I 00. Bar 2| is shaped as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the same having its central portion somewhat above the end lugs 21a, said central portion being of convex shape on its upper side. and being provided with a central aperture 2| 2) and a plurality of elongated apertures or slots. 210 at each side of aperture Zlb. Said bar has a plurality of spaced trough-shaped lugs ZId. projecting at its forward side and a table. 22 has a downturned edge 22a. seated in said lugs. Said table 22 is in the form of" a plate preferably made of metal and the same has secured to its under side small brackets 23 having hookshaped portions which extend under the lugs 2ld as shown in Fig. 5. The structure of members 22 and 23 just described, together with the lugs Zld, form a hinge or hinges so that table 22 can swing about the axis of lugs Zld. Table 22 has a downwardly extending front side 2213 and said table is connected at its ends by pins 220 to the upper apertured ends of links 25 which have apertured lower ends through which passes a shaft 25 journaled inlugs lily on end frames or members H3. Another bar 26 is provided extending between guide rods 20 and having apertured end lugs 26a slidable on the guide rods 29. Bar 26 is shaped as shown in Figs. 1 and and has its central portion disposed below the lugs 25a, said central portion having a lower convex surface and being provided with apertures 2% similar to and alined with the apertures Nb and 250 of bar 2|. Bar 26 has bosses 250 at its ends into which extend pins 21. Pins Z'l extend through the upper apertured ends of links 28, said links being held thereon by the washers 29 and cotter pins 30. Links 28 extend downwardly and have their other ends pivoted by pivots 3! to levers 32 secured to shaft 25. As shown in Fig. 4 links 28 are formed on an obtuse angle longitudinally and have their lower ends curved rearwardly to engage pivot members 3!. Bar 25 has bosses He in which are secured the pins 33 which pass through the upper apertured ends of links 35, said links being secured on said pins by the washers 35 and the cotter pins 36. Links 35 extend downwardly and are secured by pivot pins 31 to angle levers 32. It will be noted that in the position. of lever 32 shown in Fig. 4, pivot 31 is above shaft 25 and is closer to shaft 25 than the pivot 3i which latter is below shaft 25. Arms 38 have hubs through which shaft 25 passes, which hubs are secured to said shaft by the set screws 39. Said arms 33 are rectangular in shape and are disposed in a slot 45a extending longitudinally through the side of a counterweight do, which counterweight is adjustable along arm 33 and held in fixed position thereon by set screw 4%. A collar 4! is secured to shaft 25 by set screw cm at the inner side of each link 24 to hold said links in position. Lever 32 has arms extending therefrom substantially at right angles, which arms are provided at their ends with handles 32a.

The bar 26 has a plurality of bosses 28d at its upper rear side having flat surfaces to which are secured by the bolts 42, a fiat bar or cross rail t3 which extends above and below said bosses. Bar 43 is beveled at its upper and lower edges so that it is of V-shape at said edges in cross section. Bar 43 has moving in engagement with its upper side a pair of rollers M, while a roller 55 disposed centrally between rollers M. engages its lower side. Rollers 45 and 55 have V-shaped grooves in their peripheries fitting said bar so that there is no lost motion between said rollers and bar. Rollers M and A5 are journaled on studs 46 secured to a bracket or carriage 41, which studs are headed and also secure said rollers to said carriage. While various structures of roller and bearing might be used, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated said studs 35 have a body portion 550 which fits in the inner shell Ma of a ball bearing casing. Shell Ma is provided with two spaced ball bearing tracksor races of the two-point type in which travel the balls Mo. Said balls also alined with said races in said inner shell Ma.

The outer shell 44b fits tightly in a recess or bore in the roller 44 and said roller is also bored at one side so that the head of stud 56 is partially received therein. The ball bearing casing is held in roller 44 by a ring Md which is threaded into the outer end of the bore which receives shell 64b. Said ring may be rotated to be screwed into place or removed by a spanner wrench fitting in holes 44] therein. Ring Md is bored to receive a smaller ring or washer Me which is in turn bored to fit on portion 450 of stud 46. Stud 46 has a reduced terminal portion 461) which is eccentric to portion 550. Portion 45b extends. through the bracket ll and receives a nut 46a which engages the outer side of bearing 41. Stud 46 has its head provided with a slot Mid extending diametrically thereacross adapted to receive a screwdriver for rotating said stud. Ring Me projects slightly beyond the shoulder formed by portion 3517 on stud 46 and when nut 46a is tightened ring i -1e is clamped between bracket and the inner shell 44a of the ball bearing casing by head 35 of the stud. Said inner casing of the stud is thus held in stationary position. It will be seen that by rotating stud 46, which can be rotated in bearing 4? about the axis of portion 461), that roller 44 can be brought nearer to or farther away from the supporting rail 53. The rollers M and 45 can thus be moved toward or from rail 43 and a proper fit of the rollers on the rail maintained so that there Will be no play or loose movement between said rollers and rail. Carriage 41 has forwardly projecting lugs Ma and 47b which are bored to have fitting and slidable therein a spindle A8. Spindle 2-3 is bored at its lower end to have secured therein a needle 49 shown as held in place by a screw 55. Spindle 48 passes through and is secured in a block 5! bored to receive the same, which block has bosses at its sides which fit between the arms 52a of a hand lever 52. Studs 53 extend through arms 520. into the block 5i so that it is pivotally connected to the lever 52. The arms 52a extend at either side of bracket t? and unite in the rear of said bracket with a rearwardly projecting apertured portion 52b of said lever 52. Portion 52b has links 54 at either side thereof pivoted thereto on a pivot 55 and secured by the cotter pins 56. Links 54 are pivoted at their lower ends at either side of bracket 4'! to a pivot 58 passing through said bracket and said links are also secured at their lower ends by the cotter pins 59. The arms 52a have headed pins 59 projecting from their inner sides, to which are secured the lower ends of a pair of tensile coil d springs 6!, which springs are secured at their upper ends to pins 62 projecting from either side of the upper end of bracket All. Small brackets 63 are secured to the front of bar 43 and are apertured to receive pins 55 as shown in Fig. 2. A bracket 65 having a square socket therein is disposed at the inner side of each bracket 53, the same having an aperture in its end through which passes pin 65. A compression coil spring 68 surrounds pin 6 Within one of brackets 65, bearing at one end against the end of bracket 65 and at its other end against the end of a square bar 61 having its ends fitted into the sockets in brackets 65 and extending between said brackets. Bar 61 has spaced 61a thereon arranged to indicate different po sitions. for thespindle 48F and: thus for' carriage 41. to locate the tufts. inserted: by needle 49.- 'Fire marks on the different sides of bar" 61 are; differently spaced so that. saidbarmay: be: turned and sides with differently'spaced.marksbez disposed forwardly;

A plate or. board m'extends-across the table Is at right angles to the-boards l3a, the'samebeingdisposed in-a vertical plane :and secured .at its outer ends to brackets 'Hby the bolts-12. Plates '53. are also secured to said-board l0 and brackets i i the same being shownlas disposed between the front sideof brackets 1| and the rear side of board 19' and as extending forwardly along the ends of board l9 and some distanceforwardly: ofsaid board and having their outer forward ends bent or curved outwardly. Plates 13: are of a height as shown in Fig. 4, said: plates'andtboard 79 having their loweredges somedistance above the topsurface of. table' l3. Brackets; 1| have outwardlyextending lugsH a which are secured by headed and nutted-bolts'llto certain links of chains 15' disposed at each end of. table l3. Chains T5. at their forward ends run over sprockets l6, whichsprockets are secured to a shaft 11 journaledin lugs lily of end members I0 and in brackets 18 secured to the bottom of table l3. Shaft has-hand wheels 19 secured theretoat each end, thesame having outwardly projecting handles 19a thereon shown as four in number. The chains 15 at their rear ends run over sprockets 89 journaled on shafts 8| and held thereon by washers 82:and-cotter pins 83. Each shaft 8| hasan. enlarged portion or block 8|a of square or rectangular form, substantially fitting in and slidable in a bracket 84 secured to the bottom of table |3 by the-bolts 85. A set screw 86 extends intotheforward end of bracket 84 and engages portion 8|a, said set screw being shown as provided with a. jam. nut 81. It will be seen that by. turning screw. 86 shaft 8| can be moved 'rearwardly to. tighten chain 15. Brackets slidable on plates I9.

have slots at their lower ends into which fit the outer edges-of the plates |9I,.said. brackets being A bracket 88' is secured to each rear. outer corner of table l3, thesame being secured by bolts 89. Each. bracket 88 is apertured at its upper end to receive a pin 99 which projects through said bracket and through the end. of. a. socket bracket 9| similar to bracket 65 already described,,which is disposed at the left hand endof bar 61' as seen in Fig. 2. A bar 92, square in cross section,. fits into the end of bracket 9] and extends from said bracket to another socket bracket 93 into which its other end is fitted. Bracket 93 is similar to bracket. 65 shown in Fig. 2 and has a pin 94 extending through its end on which it is journaled, said pin also extending through the upper end of a bracket 95secured to the upper rear side of end members Why the bolts .96; Itwill be understood that there is a bracket 95' and a bar'92 at each end' of the machine. A compression coil spring 9'! surrounds pin 94 and'is disposed'in bracket 93,

. the same bearing at one end against the inner end of bracket 9.3' and at its other end against the end oflbar. 92. Bar. 92 has a plurality of marks 92a thereon with. which a small plate bracket 98 carried by board. 18 is adapted to aline to indicate the different positions of. board 19 and thus the difierent positions. for the rows of tufts in the mattress. Bar 92 has differently spaced marks on the. various sidesthereofand saidbar maybe turned to bring any side toward bracket In? operation, the mattress [00' to be tufted is placedion the table I3. Board 18 at this time will be at the. rearward limitof its movement. Board 'lfl'can. be: moved forwardly and rearwardly by the; operator' turning one or the other of hand wheels. 19;. Rotation of these wheels turns sprockets 16,, thus moving the chains 15 and the brackets:'! The; rear sidebf the mattress is engaged by'boardpw and: the operator then rotates one of: the; wheels 19. to. move the mattress forwardly; said; mattress sliding on table |3-. The mattressismoved; until the location for the first row of tufts as desired is beneath needle 49-or in alinement withthe bars 2 and 26. This position can .be easilylocated byturning the wheel 'l9until the thin. bracket or pointer 98 registerswith the first: mark on the bar-'92. Said bar 92- will have previously been:- turned to bring the side having the'desired'spacing ofmarks 92a towardvbracket 981. Withthe. mattress so. positioned the operator grasps one of the handles 32a and swings the same forwardly,. rotating lever 32 forwardly. When the bars 2| and 26 arein separated position, the. arm.of lever 32 which is shown as extending downwardly. in Fig. 4 will extend upwardly. The operator continues to swing lever 32 until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 4 and he usually engages both handles 32a in'this operation. Bars 2;| and 26 are moved toward each other tothe positions shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The mattress is now compressed between the convex surfaces of bars 2| and 26. The bars 2| and 26 are so arranged relatively to table 13, that each bar after engaging the mattress travels the same distance as the other bar so that the mattress isequally compressed from its top andv bottomandwhen so-compressed is compressed symmetrically about a horizontal plane. This is important, for if the mattress is compressed more from one side than the other and the tuft inserted,;when the mattress is released thetuft will be a different distance from the top edge or corner of the mattress than it will be from the lower edge or corner. It. is to get this equal compression that the pivots 3|.and 3'lare spaced different distances from shaft 25. As lever 32 is swung, arms 38 are swung and counterweight. 39' elevated. The lever 32. moves slightly past the dead center position relative to pivots 3| and 31' and shaft 25 so that saidlever. and the bars 2| and 26 remain in their pcsitionsadjacent each other with the mattress compressed; With the mattress so compressed the, operator now grasps the handle of lever 52' and moves the carriage 41 lengthwise of bar 43'. Spindle 48 is successively alined with the marks on bar 61 and when so alinedwith a mark the operator pulls down on the end of lever 52, forcing the needle 49 through the mattress and to carry a tuft through said mattress in a manner well known in the art and as shown in the copending application of Walter H. Morley, for Mattress tufting machine, filed November 2, 1932, Serial No. 640,829. It will be noted that the bar 43' and the carriage 4'. move downwardly with the bar 26 so that an excessive stroke or movement of spindle 48 is unnecessary. When spindle 48 is moved downwardly to pass needle 49" through the compressed portion of the mattress, springs 6| are extended and these springs act to return spindle 48 and needle 49 to their upper positions. The needle passes through the holes 2|b'. and. 2|c as well as through the holes 26b, these holes being arranged to accommodate the desired spacings of the tufts. After the row of tufts iscompleted across the mattress,

the operator again rotates lever 32, moving the bars 2! and 26 apart. He then again rotates one of the wheels 19, moving board 10 forwardly to bring member 98 into alinement with the next mark 92a after which lever 32 is again operated to move bars 2| and 26 and compress the mattress along a new zone. The mattress is compressed each time along a narrow zone extending thereacross. It will also be seen that table 22 is hinged to bar 2! and the inner end of said table can move upwardly with said bar, this movement being permitted by the pivotal connections at pins 220 and shaft 25.

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided a simple, much improved and easily operated machine for tufting mattresses. By having the bars 2| and 26 convex at their adjacent surfaces the material of the compressed mattress is held only along a very narrow zone. There is also less tendency to tear the goods than where a fiat surface is used and sharp corners are present. By having the carriage mounted on the upper compressor bar a smaller travel of spindle i3 is necessary to make the tufts. The arrangement of the bars 2| and 26 to have equal movement after engaging the mattress is also of great importance. As above stated, where the mattress is compressed more from one side than the other, the tufts are not spaced the same on one side of the mattress as on the other side. The present construction also requires very few guide members for the carriage and yet the same is very accurately held and guided in its movement. Means are provided for spacing the rows of tufts as well as for spacing the individual tufts. The machine is constructed throughout so that a very rapid tufting can be performed. By having the bars 2| and 26 of concave form on their adjacent surface the mattress also slides over the same with great ease. The machine has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be very successful and efficient.

It will,of course, be understood that various changes may be made in. the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in avdevice capable of carrying out the objects above set forth in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, a support for a mattress, means for com.- pressing said mattress along a narrow zone extending thereacross, means connected toand movable with said means and also movable longitudinally of said means for inserting tufts in said compressed zone at spaced points.

2. .A mattress tufting machine having in combination, means for sup-porting a mattress, a pair of bars extending completely across said mattress above and below the same, means for moving said bars toward and from each other to compress said mattress therebetween along a narrow zone so as to be in condition to receive tufts, said bars having their adjacent surfaces convexly curved in transverse cross section at their adjacent'sides and being provided with holes through which a tufting needle may pass.

3. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, means for supporting a mattress, members extending transversely of said means above and below said mattress and movable toward each other to compress said mattress along a narrow zone, means mounted on and movable with one of said members and also movable longitudinally thereof to diiferent positions for inserting tufts through said compressed zone.

4. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, a support for a mattress, members extending transversely of said mattress above and below the same and movable toward each other to compress said mattress along a narrow zone, a cross rail movable with one of said members in its movement toward the other member and a carriage movable longitudinally of said cross rail to different positions longitudinally of said members for inserting tufts in said mattress.

5. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, a support for a mattress, a narrow member extending transversely of said mattress above the same, a narrow member extending transversely of said mattressbelow the same, means for moving said members toward each other to compress said mattress along a narrow zone, a cross rail carried by said first mentioned member, a carriage movable longitudinally of said cross rail and said members, means movable vertically in said carriage carrying a needle for inserting tufts in said mattress through said compressed zone and means manipulatable by the operator for operating said last mentioned means.

6. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, means for supporting a mattress, a member extending transversely of said mattress above the same, means for moving said member toward said mattress to compress said mattress, a cross rail carried by said member, rollers running on said cross rail, a carriage supported by said rollers and cross rail, a vertically movable spindle in said carriage, a needle carried by said spindle and means movable by the operator for depressing said spindle and forcing said needle through said mattress to insert tufts therein.

7. The structure set forth in claim 6 and a bar carried by said cross rail having indications thereon with which said spindle may be alined to space the tufts in said mattress.

8. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, means for supporting a mattress, a cross rail extending transversely of said mattress above the same comprising a narrow bar having beveled upper and lower sides, rollers having grooved peripheries fitting and engaging said sides, there being a plurality of rollers at one side of said bar, a carriage supported by said rollers and cross rail and movable longitudinally of said rail on said rollers and means mounted on said carriage for piercing a mattress to insert tufts therethrough. v

9. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, a cross rail, a carriage mounted for movement on said'cross rail, rollers on said carriage engaging said rail and means for moving said rollers toward and from said rail to maintain a proper fit therewith.

10. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, a cross rail, a carriage mounted for movement on said cross rail, a stud in said carriage having an eccentric portion, a roller carried on said eccentric portion and engaging said rail, said stud being rotatable to move said roller toward or from said rail and means for holding said stud in fixed position.

11. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, a cross rail, a carriage mounted for movement on said rail, a stud secured in said carriage and having an eccentric portion, a ball bearing casing mounted on said eccentric portion, a roller mounted on said casing and engaging said rail, means for holding said casing in said roller and means for holding said stud in fixed position whereby said stud may be rotated to move said roller toward or from said rail.

12. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, a support for a mattress, members disposed above and below said mattress respectively and in vertical alinement, means for moving said members together to compress said mattress along a narrow zone extending thereacross, a second member carried by said member above the mattress and movable longitudinally thereof and manually operable means movable vertically relatively to said second member for piercing said mattress in said zone and inserting tufts therein at desired spaced points.

13. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, means for supporting a mattress, members extending across said means above and below the same, links connected to said members respectively adjacent their ends, a lever journaled about a fixed axis and connected to said links respectively, said links being connected to said lever at opposite sides of said axis and at difierent distances therefrom, the link connected to said member above said means being connected the greater distance from said axis, whereby said links and members will be moved different distances by oscillation of said lever and said member above said means will be moved upward a greater distance than said member below said means will be moved downward.

14. A mattress tufting machine having in combination, means for supporting a mattress, mem bers extending across said means above and below the same, links connected to said members respectively adjacent their ends, a lever journaled about a fixed axis and connected to said links respectively, said links being connected at opposite sides of said axis and at different distances therefrom, whereby said links and members will be moved difierent distances by oscillation of said lever, said lever having handle-equipped arms thereon extending substantially at right angles to each other, an arm swinging with said lever and a counterweight carried by said last men tioned arm.

MARTIN H. LANG. 

